Im starting at ground zero, need advice and support!

Hey guys, a little background info first,

I'm 19, currently not going to college but working part time, my friend just recently told me he is going into the Marines to be a firefighter. He'll have a 4 year stint with them, then get a job here in the states as a fire fighter.

All this talk about going into the Marines, etc got me thinking about my career, and me wanting to be in the medical field, and now I'm not too sure if thats the way I want to go.

I've always wanted to be a fire fighter, I love the idea of helping people and saving lives, and so forth.

I got a couple questions, I googled the salary of firefighters and it seems tha tmost make around 40-70k max a year, is this true? I asked my friend and he says its wrong, all his professors and his uncle who works for the fire department say they make around 60-130k, working 24 hours straight, then 48 days of, is this also true?

Also, I don't know how to get started, I don't think the Marines are right for me, but how does one go about wanting to work for a fire station? What do I need to do?

What would you guys say is the best and worst part of being a fire fighter?

I really don't have anyone to ask, so Im turning to you guys for any advice and encouragement, thanks!

There have been a few threads on here about this before...so do some searching.

Join the Marines for the right reason. Not because you want to be a fire fighter. The recruiter will tell you what you want to hear, will "guarantee" your MOS after joining, etc. And then you find out that is not true.

Also, there is no guarantee that you will get a job as a paid FF after you leave the Marines. In some areas, it gets you a few extra points, and thats it.

I can tell you this much, when you go into the parking lot of most fire departments they are filled with a whole bunch of F350 and the like pick up trucks. There are no old rust buckets sitting in the driveways.

I'm 19, currently not going to college but working part time, my friend just recently told me he is going into the Marines to be a firefighter. He'll have a 4 year stint with them, then get a job here in the states as a fire fighter.

All this talk about going into the Marines, etc got me thinking about my career, and me wanting to be in the medical field, and now I'm not too sure if thats the way I want to go.

I've always wanted to be a fire fighter, I love the idea of helping people and saving lives, and so forth.

I got a couple questions, I googled the salary of firefighters and it seems tha tmost make around 40-70k max a year, is this true? I asked my friend and he says its wrong, all his professors and his uncle who works for the fire department say they make around 60-130k, working 24 hours straight, then 48 days of, is this also true?

Also, I don't know how to get started, I don't think the Marines are right for me, but how does one go about wanting to work for a fire station? What do I need to do?

What would you guys say is the best and worst part of being a fire fighter?

I really don't have anyone to ask, so Im turning to you guys for any advice and encouragement, thanks!

Only you can decide if following your friends path is right for you and as was noted, it doesn't come with a guarantee of a job when you get out. Additionally, as far as I know, the firefighter mos in the Marines is as an aviation firefighter, not the same as being a municipal firefighter. Nothing wrong with that, but something to be aware of.

The salary numbers you post are for the most part accurate, but they will vary from department to department depending on things like the cost of living, amount of available overtime, economic viability of the area, etc.

I think most departments tend to work either 24 on, 48 off or 24 on, 72 off. There's also a fair number that work some sort of split day/night type of schedule. A typical one of those is 4-10hr days, 4 days off, 4-14hr nights, 4 days off, then repeat. There's also a few other shift schedules out there.

If you're looking for a FF job, then do some research into the departments you're interested in or areas where you'd like to live that have career departments. Find out what the process to get hired is and follow it.

I can tell you this much, when you go into the parking lot of most fire departments they are filled with a whole bunch of F350 and the like pick up trucks. There are no old rust buckets sitting in the driveways.

what fire houses to you go to? The only guys with nice cars are the single guys and the ones with side jobs. Often times the pick up is for the side job.

pay will vary depending on where you are, but unless you live somewhere with a high cost of living, don't expect 6 figures.